Hennessey Performance is known for taking fast cars and turning them into horsepower monsters. The company, based in Sealy, became the authority on building reliable, streetable, 1,000-horsepower Dodge Vipers, before turning to other modern supercars. Where do you go from there?
You bring the same big-horsepower knowhow to the lightest chassis available, and then get to work making it fit to create something completely new.
The Hennessey Venom GT made its Texas debut at the Houston Coffee & Cars meetup last weekend at the Marq*E Entertainment Center, to a crowd of enthusiasts and curious onlookers alike.
In a parking lot packed with exotic and rare metal, the Venom GT had an unmistakably Texas-sized presence.
And Texas-sized specs, too. Its twin-turbo V8 derived from the Corvette ZR-1 makes up to 1,200 horsepower and they say it will do 267mph.
The transformation leaves little untouched, and a look under the clamshell engine cover reveals custom-fabricated inner-workings that’s more Le Mans prototype than tiny British sports car.
It’s lightweight — under 2,700 lbs — because the mid-engined chassis starts life as a Lotus Elise.
The vehicle is then widened, stretched, stiffened, cut and rebuilt in England before being sent to Hennessey’s shop in Sealy.
It’s surprisingly sophisticated and well thought out.
Looking at this car, it’s easy to make the mistake in calling the Venom GT a “Lotus Elise on steroids.” But if anything, it’s on Viagra.
